Auction weekend

It's definitely just my anxiety, but it feels today like everything is coming undone.

The annual online auction, having raised more than $50,000 since it began, takes place again this weekend. We've got more than 100 items including some truly unexpected, spectacular pieces. You can access it all here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.411614883661291. Bidding starts Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. MST and ends Sunday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m.

Word art on mugs? Check. Word art on incredible wood clock? Yes. Everything from gift cards to full birthday parties and one-of-a-kind memorabilia? Of course.

But it's easy to sink into the negatives. Are enough people aware of the auction? The last blog post I wrote here, about the city of Medicine Hat proclaiming September as childhood cancer month, has been read by fewer than 100 people.

I'm afraid that I'm not doing a good enough job for Dominic, having focused on all the massive changes in my life these past two years instead. On one hand I know that interest in him is bound to diminish over time as people's memories of his life fade. But a big part of me refuses to accept it.

We resist change. Ask someone to do their job differently tomorrow and you'll be met with a range of emotions from anger to confusion and back again. And yet, when you're a hospital parent, you roll with it. You have no other choice.

Kids in children's hospitals right now are facing significant changes over which they have no control. They're being told they can't get surgeries and procedures done. We need to do better for these kids. The #Dominicstrong auction is a small way towards that. We're not going to change the world with another $8,100 (the total we raised last year). But every penny helps.

You were going to spend the $50 at Wal Mart anyhow. So buy one of the three gift cards in the auction and add $5 out of goodwill.

You were going to have your kids' birthday party at the local gymnastics club anyhow. So spend that money in the auction, not looking for a discount, because it goes to a good cause and the club donated it.

See an item with few bids? Think of someone you know who might want it, then contact them, tell them about the auction, and get them to bid it up.

It's not complicated. Charity isn't about you saving a buck. It's about you doing good.

Please, come together and let's do some good.